Look up in the corner of this blog and you'll see a photo of Vermont's Rabbit Hill Inn. If you tuned into ABC World News with Charles Gibson last Friday, you watched as Leslie and Brian Mulcahy, owners of the Rabbit Hill Inn, were named "Persons of the Week".
According to the story in the ABC World News segment highlighting their story, Rabbit Hill Inn innkeeper Leslie Mulcahy remembers what it's like to have a husband out of work and feel beaten down by a recession. "It goes past the financial stress," she said. "You're wondering what's wrong with you. Why you can't find anything. And then you realize there's nothing to be found. But that's not comforting either."
Leslie Mulcahy says her life started to turn around when she and her husband Brian Mulcahy took at trip they really couldn't afford to the Rabbit Hill Inn. "We were worlds away from everything that could burden you, and nothing mattered except being a couple," she said. Today the Mulcahys own and run the inn. The harsh economy has left them with rooms to spare, so they hope to help other couples down on their luck.
They came up with a contest called The Pink Slip Getaway. Anyone out of work for more than six months could enter by writing a letter and telling his or her story. Throughout the past few months, hundreds of letters have poured in -- each relaying just how difficult these tough times have made people's lives. As the ABC World News segment revealed, mothers wrote in with concerns for their kids, and spouses sent letters detailing just how hard their other halves were working. Each winning couple has won a two-night stay -- all expenses paid -- in the inn's most luxurious rooms, with amenities including a jacuzzi, fireplace and chef prepared meals.
"These rooms exist anyway," said Leslie Mulcahy. "If I have a room to share, I would rather have somebody in there enjoying it ... I have it to give. It's going to sit there with the lights out. I'd rather see it with the lights on."
Rabbit Hill Inn is still taking entries for their monthly Pink Slip Getaway Giveaway. If you have been unemployed for six months or longer, simply mail or email your story to the Rabbit Hill Inn at:
Rabbit Hill Inn Getaway Giveaway
P.O. Box 55
Lower Waterford, VT 05848
Or info@rabbithillinn.com